On Decanting
Cork removed intact. Decanted cleanly off a well formed crust. A lovely dark ruby red colour with a pink rim. Nice fresh raspberry nose. Good thick mouthfeel with lots of red fruits but very dry and quite hot. Needs air time.

+3 Hours
The nose has opened up and is now more powerfull but still that nice fresh raspberry dominates. Nice weight in the mouth. Now more blackcurrant showing but the dryness kicks in quickly. A long mouthwatering finish with a little warmth on the top of the palate. This is nice. Not spectacular, but very nice. The dryness isn't just the classic Dow effect, there is lots of tannin here which suggests this stuff has some way to go before showing its best.

Based on this showing and advice from ADV I think this needs a longer decanting time than I could manage tonight so have put half of the bottle into a 375ml which went straight in the fridge on decanting. I will decant that for around 8 hours tomorrow and see how it shows before venturing a score.

Derek T. wrote:On Decanting
Cork removed intact. Decanted cleanly off a well formed crust. A lovely dark ruby red colour with a pink rim. Nice fresh raspberry nose. Good thick mouthfeel with lots of red fruits but very dry and quite hot. Needs air time.

+3 Hours
The nose has opened up and is now more powerfull but still that nice fresh raspberry dominates. Nice weight in the mouth. Now more blackcurrant showing but the dryness kicks in quickly. A long mouthwatering finish with a little warmth on the top of the palate. This is nice. Not spectacular, but very nice. The dryness isn't just the classic Dow effect, there is lots of tannin here which suggests this stuff has some way to go before showing its best.

Based on this showing and advice from ADV I think this needs a longer decanting time than I could manage tonight so have put half of the bottle into a 375ml which went straight in the fridge on decanting. I will decant that for around 8 hours tomorrow and see how it shows before venturing a score.

Derek

This is from a full 750ml bottle from what I can understand. I have had this twice from 375ml bottles: once was not unlike the above TN and another was much more savage. I think that it may have been context that made a difference to my opinions. I find that Dow is not just an acquired taste but that you have to be in the mood for it.

When the two parts of a good Dow and right mood coincide it is utterly wonderful. Sometimes it does not work and this occurred on my second half.

I picked up a stash of 10 half bottles of the Dow 1983 from Sainsbury about 4 years ago. They drank really, really well and were absolutely perfect. Although they would last well in the cellar, I'm not sure they would improve - just change the balance in the components of their make-up.

Derek T. wrote:On Decanting
Cork removed intact. Decanted cleanly off a well formed crust. A lovely dark ruby red colour with a pink rim. Nice fresh raspberry nose. Good thick mouthfeel with lots of red fruits but very dry and quite hot. Needs air time.

+3 Hours
The nose has opened up and is now more powerfull but still that nice fresh raspberry dominates. Nice weight in the mouth. Now more blackcurrant showing but the dryness kicks in quickly. A long mouthwatering finish with a little warmth on the top of the palate. This is nice. Not spectacular, but very nice. The dryness isn't just the classic Dow effect, there is lots of tannin here which suggests this stuff has some way to go before showing its best.

Based on this showing and advice from ADV I think this needs a longer decanting time than I could manage tonight so have put half of the bottle into a 375ml which went straight in the fridge on decanting. I will decant that for around 8 hours tomorrow and see how it shows before venturing a score.

Derek

It took 4 days for me to get back to the other half bottle. I was waiting on an opportunity to give it 8 hours in the decanter but it wasn't happening so I popped it tonight.

There was a little heat in this tonight but nothing distracting. Nice thick mouthfeel and a good long dry finish and still lots of tannins hanging around. I really like this stuff.